Original Scope: The technologies for weld inspection and advances made in weld quality for ship building and heavy equipment industries have progressed significantly over time. Weld quality is maintained by process control and inspection during the welding operation, which provides greater control and associated uniformity. Information gathered during the welding process is recorded and post-weld inspection is adapted based on this information. These industries use automated inspection techniques to perform the quality verification (QV) of welds. Currently highway bridges and structures rely on qualification of weld procedures and visual inspection of the completed weld, requiring considerable effort, which adds to the fabrication time. Adopting advanced approaches from other industries could potentially help steel bridge owners increase weld quality, eliminate the time and cost required for post weld inspection, and provide a digital record of the weld geometry.
The objective of the scan is to examine the state of the art of in-process weld inspection and the resulting quality assurance used for ship building and heavy equipment manufacturing. The scan team will investigate the processes and controls used to produce quality welds in non-highway building industries. The scan team will examine the equipment involved in weld inspection and quality assurance, the specifications used for equipment requirements and quality control procedures, and calibration of the equipment to the appropriate quality standards. The scan team will investigate monitoring welding variables, measurement of weld size using laser scanning and the resulting reliability of the weld quality using in-process inspection. The scan team will also examine the current state of practice within the AASHTO bridge community for comparative purposes. Implementation and Impact
Implementation and Impact
None to report at this time.
Scan Members
- Xiaohua “Hannah” Cheng, New Jersey DOT, AASHTO Chair
- Michael Leonard, Massachusetts DOT
- Bryan Hartnagel, Missouri DOT
- Leslie Daugherty, Alaska DOT&PF
- Mark Daniels, Utah DOT
- Cornelius Wright, Georgia DOT
- Reginald Lee, Georgia DOT
- Justin Ocel, FHWA
- Heather Gilmer, SME
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